The Broken Heart Job
by Challen Evergreen
Summary: Boy sees girl. Girl sees boy. Boy is shocked. Girl pulls gun and threatens to shoot boy... what could go wrong. Has some dark moments, I'm not going to pretend otherwise, but has it's humor as well. Humor a bit dry at times, but still there. And there's love, because my stories never get away without a little bit of romance. Enjoy. Teaser for sequel now up.
1. We Meet Again

"Are you sure you don't mind doing this?" A man asked a rather elusive being with no known name.

"We aren't hurting anyone who doesn't deserve it?" The person reiterated from the other line.

"Nope, I may not be on the right side of the law anymore, but I'm still a pseudo good guy." He answered.

"Then yeah, I'm in." They promised. "I'm three hours away."

And with that the line went dead, prompting the man to close it and walk towards his team. "Ok people, our extra hand will be here in less than two hours."

"Remind me again why we need an outsider?" Their resident Grifter demanded with irritation clear in her voice.

The Mastermind of the operation held back an eye roll at the clearly jealous Grifter. "Because, we need the specific skill this person can bring in for this job." He reminded them all.

"What was his name again?" The Hacker of the team asked for the fifth time.

"Pride." Was the answer he gave just as his Hitter walked through the door.

"What?" The man asked as he took a seat at the counter, a thoughtful look on his face.

Their Thief rolled her eyes. "Our extra player for this job." She told him.

He looked up in surprise. "Why are we bringing in another player?"

The Mastermind rolled his eyes. "We need their specific skills." He answered irritably.

The Hitter sat back, a look of perplexion on his face. He looked like he was trying to remember something that he knew he knew, but wasn't positive.

"He better not be a thief." Their Thief, also known as Parker, said sulkily with her arms crossed.

"Or a Hacker." Their Hacker, Alec Hardison, muttered as he searched through federal databases for the name.

"I'll be damned if we bring an unknown Grifter on to this team with me here." The Grifter, Sophie Devereaux, said threw pursed lips. Ever since she'd taken her sabbatical and come back, she'd been a bit territorial.

Everyone looked towards the silent Hitter, who still looked deep in thought. He glanced up as he felt the eyes. "What?" He asked with a shrug. "I don't expect him to need another Hitter, and even if he does, I'm quite secure in my place on this team." He said, stringing more words together then usual before losing himself back into his previous thought.

"Well you all are right, and wrong." He answered. "The person -"

But he was cut off by the knock at the door. He walked over, glanced threw the peephole, and grinned at the sight on the other side. "Welcome." He said after opening the door.

Everyone but the Hitter rushed to their feet and towards the door to find a surprise on the other side. "Who's she?" Sophia demanded.

"She's our extra player." Nate Ford, aka their Mastermind, answered as he closed the door behind their extra hand for this job.

"I thought it was a guy." Hardison said sulkily before holding his hand out towards the beautiful creature. "My name is"

He was cut off. "Alec Hardison." She answered for him. "I do my homework."

The team, minus their Hitter, looked over the woman before them. She was shorter than even Parker, making her only about five foot two or three. With long auburn curls trailing down to her lower back, a porcelain doll face, a curvy body, honey and cream skin, and large green eyes that completely dominated her face beside the mass of hair. She was the type that made guys jump in front of a bullet or take a punch to the solarplex just to protect her.

"And your name is?" Parker asked a bit rudely.

The woman held out her hand. "Kath"

She was cut off by a gasp and "Mara?" from the previously hidden Hitter. "Mara Trail..." He reiterated his expression a mix between surprise, fear, and crushing sadness that no one but he and she could possibly understand.

Katherine Pride - aka Elizabeth Master's, aka Samantha Rule, aka on and on and on until you finally got to her true name... Amarantha Trail, aka Mara - turned to find herself face to face with a man she'd never thought to see again. She actually took a step back before checking herself and stepping forward angrily. "You!" She snarled as she brought up a previously hidden .45 and pointed it directly at the man's head. To say the other three were a bit surprised would be an understatement. "Why are you here?" She demanded, spitting out the word you as though worried it may contaminate her.

"You realize that shooting me would be a bit overkill." He told her calmly without even paying attention to her question.

She snorted. "You realize that I don't care." She told him, bringing back the hammer with every intent of putting a bullet threw his head.

Parker stepped forward angrily, but the little woman before them quickly pulled out a throwing knife and pointed it towards the thief. "I will throw this threw your shoulder - making it very hard for you to scale any buildings, and do your job, for a nice long while - if you step any closer." She warned silkily, keeping her entire focus on the man in front of her.

"Come on." The Hitter said with exasperation clear in his voice. "It's not like I did anything that horrid." He told her.  
She snorted. "Are you serious?" She demanded angrily. "Nothing that horrid." She mimicked. "Do you know what happened to me after you left?" She demanded.

Sophie looked towards Nate with a smirk on her face, one that clearly said this was more than just a peek into Eliot Spencer, resident Hitter, this was one of the major reason he was who he was today. This tiny little woman before them was one of the biggest missing pieces to their Spencer Puzzle.

He shrugged. "I had to leave." He told her. "If I'd stayed they would have found you and you'd have gotten hurt."

She cackled, actually cackled like some demented witch, at his words. "They did find me." She told him with a glimmer of pain at some memory only she knew. "And you weren't there." She finished the last, her voice almost a whisper as she uncocked her gun and lowered it, the knife slipping back into its concealed sheath and her gun back into its own spot. She turned towards Nate Ford with a grimace. "I know I told you I'd do this, but I can't." She told him. "I'll make a call and have you a replacement that can be here by tonight." She finished before turning towards the door. She glanced back once more towards the man she'd known five years ago, and couldn't help the wobble that hit her lips. "Bye." She said before opening the door and walking out without another backwards glance.

Eliot stood frozen for a moment before taking off after the woman without even casting a glance towards his team mates.


	2. Who Is She

"What just happened?" Hardison asked from his seat at the counter.

Parker glanced towards Hardison. "I think that's the girl from the picture." She muttered, face thoughtful.

Sophie glanced towards Parker with an arched brow. "Picture?" She demanded.

Parker glanced towards Sophie with an uh oh, I didn't do it look. "I couldn't help it." She said with a voice you may hear from a kid getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "It's just, Hardison is so easy, Nate's really no challenge, and you..." She trailed off, not wishing to insult the woman she considered a sort of friend. "Yeah."

"Explain." Sophie said like an aggravated parent to Parker's sullen child.

Parker glanced towards the ceiling and around the room, anywhere but at Sophie, but the growl coming from the Grifter had her sighing. "Ok, so I may have snuck into Eliot's place to see if I could do it without him noticing." She admit as she hopped from foot to foot guiltily. "I wasn't going to snoop or touch anything or... anything." She told them. "It's not my fault that his place is immaculate and the only thing he's got personal in there is a faded photo." She told them all as though it was completely his fault she'd snooped.

"Where was the photo?" Sophie asked, her Grifter skills coming to the front of her mind.

Parker shrugged. "It may have been under his pillow." She commented. "But there was a corner sticking out and I just wanted to know what kind of things a man like Spencer would have hiding under his pillow. I didn't expect it to be a worn out picture of a brunette holding a flower." She rushed out. "I mean, come on, it's Eliot." She finished as though explaining herself, even though she wasn't.

"Under his pillow?" Sophie asked softly, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Parker nodded, glancing towards the door, hoping Eliot would return and they could all pretend that hadn't happened. Of course, he wasn't there, and they all knew they had to figure out how to pull off their con now.

"Got it!" Hardison said with a smirk.

Nate glanced towards the computer screens to find the face of the woman that'd just left, with a few differences.

"Is that really her?" Parker asked. "I mean, she looked a bit different in the photo, but I just figured that was because it was so faded."

"Amarantha Trail." Hardison read. "FBI agent, disappeared five and a half years ago. The FBI say she was taken by a group of Russian Terrorists, but when they found the group, everyone was... dead and she was gone." Hardison looked towards Nate. "This can't be her." He muttered.

Nate shrugged. "You have no idea what that woman is capable of." He told his team softly. "Hell, I have no idea what that woman is capable of and I've known her for four years."

"Really?" Sophie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nate shrugged. "I suppose known is a rather strong word. She helped me out on a few cases, and screwed me on a few others." He told them.

Sophie looked a mix between impressed and a bit jealous.

"No worries Soph, I wouldn't have brought someone on the team who I thought would hinder it." He told her before bending down to her ear. "I didn't sleep with her, neither of us were interested." He finished before standing straight and looking at the screen once more.

"Oh my god." Hardison muttered as he pulled up a picture the FBI had on file. "There's no way..." He trailed off as he flipped to another.

"It's her." Parker muttered. "They really worked her over."

Hardison cringed before reading over the information. "It seems the Russian's wanted our boy because he took out one of their higher ups, so they kidnapped his ex-handler turned Fiancé on the day of the wedding, not knowing the couple had split not twenty-four hours before that. Wonder what happened. Anyways, they worked her over and sent a couple shot's to the FBI, CIA, and anyone else who could get a hold of Spencer. None knew where he'd disappeared to, so they had nothing to give the men. Seems they sent pictures every other month, torturing the poor woman between times, until suddenly, six months after she'd been kidnapped, the pictures just stopped."

"What happened?" Parker asked, intrigued.

Hardison bit his lip. "They didn't know until a month later, when they found the base full of rotted bodies, minus one Amarantha Trail. They searched for her, but finally proclaimed her dead an entire year after she'd gone missing. Full honors at her funeral but nothing in the paper about it."

"That's why Spencer never found out." Sophie said.

"Found out what?" Spencer asked as he walked back into the room, gait angrier then when he'd left.

Hardison quickly minimized the window they'd been looking at and turned towards Eliot with a wide-eyed look.

"Nothing." Parker said firmly, no infliction in her voice.

Eliot looked them all over before his gaze rested on Nate's. "What's going on man?" He demanded.

Nate looked him straight in the eye. "We have a case to solve." Was all he told the man as his phone began to ring. "Ford here."

"Tell me exactly why you needed my help." He heard Pride... Mara say on the other end.

Nate walked out of the apartment and down the hall. "We have a kidnapping." He told her. "The little girl involved is the daughter of a Russian Terrorist who's also about to place a very valuable - and potentially dangerous - weapon on the black market. Her mother finally came out of hiding with her to give the FBI the weapon - figuring the FBI would be able to protect her - but the minute she popped back on the radar, they took the girl and the weapon. You've helped me out with them in the past so I figured..." He trailed off. "I had no idea." He muttered the last, knowing she'd take it as the Eliot thing, even though he didn't mean that.

The woman scoffed. "How would you have?" She asked. "I'm more secretive then a Grifter during a con, and I don't imagine Eliot spilling any weakness."

"I don't think he even knew." Nate muttered.

The woman was silent for a moment before "I know."

"So, why do you ask about the case? I didn't think you'd have anything to do with me ever again." Nate said.

"How old is this little girl?" She asked.

"Ten." He answered.

"And what did you need me to do?"

He sighed, knowing what would happen, but also knowing he needed her. "Sophie's an amazing Grifter, but she can't handle this part if it goes south and we need someone who won't mind getting their hands bloody. We also need her as a buyer. Unfortunately, they won't hire Eliot for the job either, and he's Sophie's character's bodyguard anyways."

"You need a Russian nanny who looks utterly harmless, but doesn't mind cutting a few throats if need be." She said, voice deadpan.

Nate sighed. "Yeah, that's exactly what I need."

He heard her sigh. "I'll do it. I'll make sure the girl stays safe while you run con, and gets to you when it's over. But if anything happens after I get her out, I don't want you coming back in after me. Understood?" She demanded.

"You just want us to hang you out to dry?" He asked, outraged.

"Exactly." She told him firmly. "You do not come back for me."

Nate grit his teeth, grinding them slightly in anger. "How will you know when we're ready for you to extract the girl?" He asked, infuriated but unable to change what would happen.

She snorted. "You'll figure out how to give me a sign." She told him.

Nate sighed angrily. "How long will it take you to get in with the man?" He asked.

Mara thought about it a moment. "Give me twenty-eight hours then begin your con."

And with that the phone line once more went dead and Nate headed in to his crew.


	3. The Con

Everything in the con had gone perfectly. Sophie had the perfect character to get her into the bidding, Hardison had perfect information on everything they needed, and Parker was all set up to take the weapon when they gave her the signal, and he'd worked the perfect double con. Until they'd recognized Sophie's hired muscle and Eliot got his ass thrown in a holding cell. Sophie barely kept herself in the auction with her quick tongue.

They finished the con and readied themselves to rescue Eliot, who was moved the day before they finished up, without their knowledge. Pride had easily gotten the girl out of the Russian's hands, but then got herself caught - right after handing the girl over to the team - because one of the men in the Russian's entourage recognized her. Now they had to find, not only Eliot, but also Pride.


	4. Reintroduction

Eliot glanced up threw his bloody bangs to see the guards carrying in a wildcat. The woman was unrecognizable threw the bag that covered her head, but she fought tooth-n- nail, kicking one of the guards in the shoulder, to keep from being thrown in the cell. "Your mother's a cow." She shouted in flawless Russian as they yanked open the door. "I bet she tried to give you away when you were born, but no one would TAKE YOU!" She shouted the last two words at the men as they tossed her into the cell and onto her back. "You cowardly curs!" She screamed, flinging herself to her feet and tearing off the bag. "You don't even have the balls to fight me like a man!" She screamed louder. "Cowardly! Bastard!" She huffed after the last fit before turning and freezing, finally noticing the man in the chair.

"Hey there Mara." He said softly.

Mara's eyes widened as she raced over to Eliot's side and dropped to her knees. She lifted his head and pushed the bloody strands from his face. "What are you doing here Eliot?" She demanded angrily as she carefully brushed her hand over his injuries to check their severity.

He chuckled but winced slightly, still trying to push the newest ache to the back of his mind. "I could ask the same of you."

"They recognized me from my last run in with them." She told him, ripping off a piece of her shirt to dab away the wet blood so it wouldn't dry on his face.

"Same." He muttered.

They didn't hear the footsteps until it was too late. "Hmm, looks like our prisoners may know one another." The head honcho, Dmitri Koramiteia, said silkily as he walked into the room. He lifted Mara up by her hair, only to pull her back against his chest and wrap a large hand around her neck, caressing the skin below her ear with a thumb. "How do you know our wonderful Katya?"

Eliot snorted. "I don't." He told the man with an eye roll and flippant attitude he didn't feel. "She's nothing more than an annoyingly loud female you decided to drop in my cell. I'd be much obliged if you took her out so I could nap."

The man's smile turned to a knowing smirk. "Are you positive sir?" He asked curiously.

Eliot half shrugged, the bindings on his hands making it impossible to do anything more.

The man looked down into the gorgeous green eyes that had so often screwed him over. "And you, my lovely Katya?"

Mara grimaced at the way his breath tickled over her skin, but matched the flippant attitude Eliot had used. "Why would I care for a nobody like him?" She asked. "The sight of blood disgusts me, I wanted it removed, but I knew your goons wouldn't do it, so I had to." She explained, an air of uncaring surrounding her.

"Is that so?" He asked with the knowing smirk still in place.

She nodded. "What else would it be?" She demanded.

The man's smirk widened. "Well then..." He said, hand tightening on her throat and blocking off the majority of her air flow, making breathing a challenge. He turned towards the door. "It seems we were mistaken, continue with the information gathering."

"What do you want us to do with the puta?" A big burly guard asked.

The man looked down at the woman he held and a dangerous glint entered his eye. "Chain her up and let her watch, and then learn who sent her." He finished before flinging her behind him and towards a wall that held a set of manacles imbedded in the stone, sitting in front of Eliot's bolted down chair.

Mara went down on her left side, but rolled with it to keep the damage to a minimum. She'd be carrying not only herself, but also Eliot out of here if they worked him over to bad. Because she was leaving, and there was no way she'd be doing it without him.

LEVRAGE

The men worked Eliot over pretty good before asking him who sent him. Of course, he said nothing, merely looking at the men as though looking at a pair of idiot monkeys.

"Fine." One of the men said with an evil glint in his eye. "Let's just find out who sent the puta then."

Mara looked straight at Eliot, telling him without words to say or do nothing, just as she had. She saw his jaw clench in anger as he tried to break the cuffs with nothing but arm strength, but was silent none the less.

"Who sent you?" A big Russian who'd mostly stayed in the background until now demanded.

Mara looked the man straight in the eye and grinned. "Your momma thought you needed a woman to clean up your act." She told him saucily. "She sent me."

The back of the man's hand smashed across her cheek, but it was barely a sting. "Who sent you?" The man demanded.

She brought her face back around to face him. "Now is that any way to treat a lady?" She asked with a popped brow and the same saucy attitude.

"One more chance lady." The man warned.

Mara's eyes widened as though in fear, but a smile crept slowly across her face, a taunting smile. "Baby, I like it rough." She told him. "We can just ignore your mamma for the moment." She finished impishly.

The man sighed. "Do what you must." He motioned to the other two men.

"Anything?" The bigger of the two asked evilly.

Mara's eyes went to him and he grinned hungrily at her. "Try it and I'll rip it off and shove it up your ass." She warned.

The big one shook his head. "Not that." He warned. "Or I'll give her the knife to use." He warned.

The evil one looked angry, but he strode forward none the less. "Who sent you?" He demanded.

Mara gathered the blood from her mouth and spit it at him, hitting his cheek. "Go fuck a goat." She told him.

"Bitch." The man snarled, his fist slamming into her stomach. "Once more, who sent you?"

Mara sucked in air and glanced back into his face, this time all playfulness was gone and there was only pure anger. "For every hit you deliver, your pain shall double." She told him.

The man scoffed. "A tiny little thing like you?" He demanded, sending another fist crashing into her stomach. "I can't wait." He whispered into her ear.

Mara spit more blood at him, but he merely slapped her for it, this one more then stung.

"So, ready to talk?" The man asked thirty minutes later, slightly angry that he'd gotten nothing more from her after that last bit of spit. She hadn't even cried out.

Mara looked at the man once more, her teeth clenched tightly in anger. Finally she loosened her jaw and smiled. "Honey, if that's all you can last, no wonder you're so tense." She taunted once more. "You must not get laid very often. Most girl's like their man to last longer than thirty seconds."

The man growled before letting fly with a fist that landed on her cheek, probably shattering the bone there, if not severely bruising it. More surgery I see. She thought to herself irritably.

She let her head hang down, refusing to lift it after that last hit, even if they tried the icy water trick. They didn't, instead they unlocked her cuffs and let her fall to the floor gracelessly before placing a metal collar around her neck and leaving her lying motionless.

"Mara?" She heard Eliot whisper into her ear after the door had slammed shut and the feet retreated out of hearing distance.

She glanced up at him and smiled. "Looks like they don't know our reputations to well." She told him softly, trying to ignore the bruised body that was screaming angrily at her.

Eliot rolled his eyes as he slowly turned her so she was lying on her back before laying her head in his lap and stroking her hair from her eyes. "Why are you provoking them?" He asked.

She smiled. "Because, if they sense fear, they'll get more pleasure from the whole thing." She told him. "The only man I want taking pleasure from me is the one I choose." She finished with a salacious wink his way.

"What happened to the soft spoken beauty I knew so well?" He asked quietly, switching to English for the first time since this whole thing started.

Mara smiled sadly. "She died." She told him, not unkindly, as she also switched to English. "She even has a gravesite and a funeral with full military honors." She laughed. "Just like the old you, McLean."

He snorted mirthlessly and shook his head. "So who are you now?"

She bit her lip and pulled up her heavy hand to hold out to him. "Hello, my name is Mara. I'm a con-artist." She told him.

He shook her hand. "Name's Eliot Spencer, I'm a Retrieval Specialist and work with a team of con-men and women to help those who no one else wants to help."

She dropped her hand. "Do you get paid for this work?" She asked curiously.

He shook his head. "We all have enough money from all of our old jobs to keep us set for the rest of our lives. And we help those who can't afford to hire anyone. People who pissed off CEO's, Company Presidents, the mob." He finished.

She laughed softly. "So you're a good-bad guy." She reiterated.

He nodded.

"And Nate Ford, the man who seemed bent on following the rules no matter what; he leads your merry little band?" She asked.

Eliot nodded. "How do you know Nate?"

Mara laughed at the question. "I saved his life, he saved mine. Then we both tried to kill the other. It's a dance we've been doing since about a year after I started."

"Why did you start?" He asked the next question that had been bugging him.

Mara bit her lip, but winced as her teeth grazed the open wound and she tasted blood. "The day after you went underground, telling me to do the same, they got me." She answered. "I ignored your warning and paid for it."

"I'm so sorry." He muttered.

She smiled. "Don't be." She told him. "They taught me things that not even the farm could." She told him. "And I've been helping people a lot more doing this, and then I ever did as an agent. I keep them alive, instead of trying to catch the people that killed them."

He nodded in understanding.

She laughed uncomfortably. "I think you should try to get some shut eye before they come back. I have a feeling you're coming up on their list of people to torture for the day." She told him, trying to make light of the situation to get them away from the rather emotional topic they'd been on previously.

He laughed at her attempt, but nodded rather than arguing. "You sure you don't mind taking first watch?" He asked, not even wondering why he trusted her so completely. It was Mara; there was nothing else to explain.

She nodded. "I've got a few things to think out before I sleep." She told him. "Get a couple winks and I'll wake you when it's my turn."

He nodded and shut his eyes.

Mara smiled at him before she closed her own eyes to take inventory of all her injuries. When she was done, she opened her eyes and continued staring at him.


	5. Meanwhile

It'd been two weeks and they still hadn't found their retrieval specialist.

Parker was going crazy calling contacts and anyone else who may know where the Russian's would hide a couple of prisoners.

Hardison hadn't left his computer more than five minutes as he hacked every database he'd ever heard of that might know anything about the Russian's.

Sophie was using every persona she'd ever made connected to anyone who had any connection to the Russians to try and find out anything that may help.

And Nate, well he was trying to keep himself from touching the bottle as he failed at every turn.

Why had he let her be taken? She would have known where they'd taken Eliot. But no she's got to get herself locked up with him. What good was he if he couldn't even keep his team safe?

All these thoughts and more ran threw his head as he prayed for a break. And finally one came.


	6. This Time Around

"Wake up little puta." She heard in Russian from where she lay suspended from the manacles at her wrist.

After they'd found her and Eliot leaning against one another about three days after they'd been taken, the guards decided they didn't like their prisoners taking comfort - even if only from one another - so they'd left him collared across the room and her suspended from the same manacles she'd been placed in at the beginning.

Of course, it hadn't worked exactly as they'd planned. Instead of breaking the two faster, they'd merely had conversations in a mix of language that the Russian's hadn't understood. They'd even had a few screaming matches over why he'd left, that one had been enlightening.

"Why do you have to be so damn stubborn?" He demanded hotly after one of her more brutal beatings, resulting from some not so pleasant conversation she'd had with the guards.

Mara glared at him hotly. "You know what, you don't have to keep this up, you and I both know you could get out if you wanted."

"Yeah, because I'm going to leave you." He told her with an irritated shake of his head.

Mara scoffed. "You've done it once, why not twice."

Eliot looked her way angrily. "That has nothing to do with this." He told her, his voice slightly rising. "You just always have to get the last word in though, don't you?" He taunted.

"Don't even start with me McLean!" She said angrily from where she stood. "You didn't have to leave."

Eliot glanced towards the floor. "No, I did." He told her.

"WHY!" She demanded loudly.

Eliot looked away. "I'm guessing they didn't tell you."

Mara grit her teeth and sighed irritably. "Tell. Me. What." She demanded.

Eliot looked her straight in the eye before uttering a phrase that broke her heart. Not because of the words, but because of the emotion and guilt he felt over their meaning. "I killed a kid Ams." He whispered.

Mara shook her head. "Not on purpose." She told him, knowing he never would do such a thing unless something had gone wrong.

"It was the last target they sent me after." He whispered.

"The Russian." Mara whispered, knowing exactly what he was talking about, because the Russian's brother, who'd taken her, had told her this was why she'd been taken.

Not that she believed it, mind you, because she knew the real reason was revenge against killing the man, not his daughter.

Eliot nodded. "I didn't mean to." He told her, pleading with his eyes for her to understand. "I pulled the trigger and she walked right in front of it, killing both of them at once." He explained.

Mara nodded in understanding. "It's why you don't carry a piece anymore, isn't it."

He nodded. "Can't control a bullet." He answered verbally.

"Look at me." Mara told him firmly.

After he looked up she let the emotion's bleed from her eyes. "I love a good man." She told him firmly. "You are a damn good man."

All in all she'd forgiven him, and he'd... well he was screwed if his emotions were telling him anything.

She completely ignored the man in front of her, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing she had to put all her effort in just lifting her head.

"Oh, it looks like the little one has not heard." The man said, leaning towards her so he could whisper in her ear. "The one who keeps you safe, he's gone."

This sent Mara's head up and towards the corner, where she found Eliot still strapped down.

The guard glanced to where she was looking and laughed. "Not that one little puta." The man told her, trying to keep his voice light, but letting threw a touch of anger. "The other."

Mara finally figured out what he meant and kicked her feet out towards the man. "Fuck you." She screamed in English before promptly switching to Russian. "If you touch me I swear you won't live to gloat."

This brought Eliot to his feet but the chain, and his bruised and broken body, sent him crashing to his knees. The guard merely laughed as he pulled out a set of handcuffs and waved them in front of her face.

She kicked out once more, but he hit her thigh hard enough to bruise it severely, if not break it. She couldn't tell what was broken and what was merely bruised anymore.

The man placed the first cuff around her wrist before releasing it.

Her hand came loose and she threw that side towards him, nails like claws going for the man's face. He merely punched her in the right kidney to stop her, leaving her breathless and in pain. At her laps in motion, he clicked the second cuff around her left manacled hand before letting it loose as well. She still couldn't move much, the pain to raw, so he had no problem slinging her over his shoulder and walking out. She heard Eliot roar, but knew he wouldn't be able to escape the manacle around his throat.

They walked down a corridor and Mara could feel the painful prickling that meant her body was coming back round. By the time they made it to a storage area that looked well used from all the other soldiers, she was ready. He dropped her on the bed and she immediately threw herself at him, using her cupped hands and swinging them towards him. She caught him across the face, sending him crashing into the door she needed to escape threw.

She quickly glanced around the room, trying to find another way out. She saw a window high up, but before she could reach it the man was on her. He spun her back around, a wicked looking straight blade held in his hand and a hungry look in his eye. Mara quickly kicked a small box towards him, but he merely swatted it away and came closer.

When he had her backed into a corner, he brought his hand up and caressed her cheek. "You really are beautiful." He told her, bringing the knife closer. "Let's see if the rest is as pleasing."

She spat at him, but he merely used his free hand to grab her neck, lift her slightly off the ground, and squeezed and released periodically so she didn't black completely out, but still stayed weak. She felt him slide the knife point slowly down her collarbone, the center of her chest, and down her stomach. He reached the bottom of her shirt and stuck the knife beneath her shirt and against the skin. Instead of pricking her with the blade, he merely sliced her shirt right up the middle.

He closed the blade and placed it in his back pocket before releasing her neck, grabbing the two halves of her shirt, and yanking hard. Her shirt came off with a rip and he let it float to the ground. Mara ignored it, focusing completely on getting her breath back.

She did notice his hands traveling down her stomach and towards the top of her jeans. Yeah, over my dead body you dickless prick. She thought angrily, bringing her knee up and into the unsuspecting man's biggest weakness.

He dropped to his knee in agony, giving Mara a second to dodge out of the corner and to the door.

Just as she grabbed the doorknob, the man wrenched her hair backwards and tossed her on the uncovered mattress. She screamed, partly in pain, but also in anger.

She wouldn't let this happen; she would never be a victim.

The man was on top of her in seconds, fumbling with her jeans in an attempt to get the tight material off.

She swung at him, but he merely head-butt her, making her vision go spotty. When she finally cleared it, he had given up on her pants and begun undoing his own.

She spat at him, thrashing but unable to move him off, or her away. As he glanced down at her, a glint of success in his eye, she could think of only one thing. He will kill you. And this thought made her smirk at the man, freezing him in confusion, shock, and a bit of fear. But it was only a moment before he was back to fiddling with her jeans, his own undone and ready.

Just as he figured her jeans out, the door was flung open.

Mara smiled to herself. He came. She thought happily. He may have screwed up last time, but he came when it was important. I'll never distrust him again.

She felt the man lifted off her and heard the snap that was his neck. She'd closed her eyes, not because him killing upset her, but because she didn't want to see the look in his eye, when he got a look at her.

"Mara." She heard him whisper as he lifted her off the mattress and into his chest. "You ok?"

She looked into his eyes, and saw only fear. There was no revulsion. "Yeah." She answered. "I really think I am."

He nodded. "Let's get the hell outta here." He told her firmly.

She nodded and he walked her out of the room, his arms not leaving her shoulders the whole way out.


	7. Going Home

Hardison looked up to see Eliot walking towards the van, his arms firmly wrapped around the short brunette, Mara. Behind the pair, Parker was rushing out of the building, an ecstatic look written all over her face. Why was he so entranced by the crazy thief again?

Coming from the other side was Nate and Sophie; both had looks of gloating pleasure on their face. They must have gotten the Russian back. He thought to himself. I just wish they'd admit their feeling towards each other so we can finally tease them.

"Open up Hardison." Eliot said, banging on the doors of Alec's precious baby to gain admitance.

"Ok, ok. No need to damage Lucille." He muttered as he swung the doors open before turning to head to the driver seat. Before he could he swung back around and noticed the brunette's stomach, sides, and back. "Oh my god."

Mara glanced up to see the look in the black man's face that she'd feared Eliot's would hold. She knew she wasn't pretty under her clothes, not after what that man had done to her for making him a eunuch - shouldn't have touched me after I warned him off. She thought murderously to herself before shaking her head and putting the thought away - but they'd faded a lot after five years. The only reason they were so prominent right then was because the black and blue bruising showcased them so well.

"Alec." Eliot said warningly, feeling the way Mara had tensed up when Hardison had traced the scars with his eyes.

Hardison glanced to his friend with an apologetic look before sitting in the driver's seat and attempting to forget what he'd seen.

LEVRAGE

Parker popped happily into the van and noticed Eliot helping the brunette to her seat. "SPARKY!" She shouted, launching herself at him after she'd made sure the brunette was safely seated.

Eliot turned and caught the blonde thief in a hug. "Hey Parker." He muttered into her hair. "You're late."

Parker huffed as she leaned backwards. "Jeeze." She muttered childishly. "You'd think a man would thank a girl when she spent the better part of two weeks researching instead of stealing." She said with a long sigh and shake of her head. "Guess I know not to help you again."

Eliot laughed and squeezed the blonde once more. "Thanks Parker." He mumbled.

"Welcome Sparky." She said with a peppy voice before seating herself beside the brunette and glancing at her scars. "Not bad." She told the woman.

Mara stiffened up as she heard the other woman's words. First she'd had to watch the woman throw herself at Eliot. Then, if that wasn't bad enough, the woman remarks on the ugly marks.

"I've got one that does that too." She said, pointing at the scar that went from right below the center of her breast to her navel, pulling up her own shirt to show it off.

Mara sat in stunned silence. This woman wasn't insulting her, she was complementing her.

"Parker." Eliot said in exasperation before pulling off his shirt and handing it over to Mara, now that he was seated and wouldn't fall on his ass with the motion.

Parker looked towards Eliot. "What?" She asked with a shrug. "I was admiring her badges, there's nothing wrong with that." She told him. "I admire yours too."

"Hey!" They heard from Hardison up front.

Parker snorted. "You don't have any Alec." She shouted up at him. "But I don't need badges to admire you." She promised.

Mara was officially confused. Who was the fille with? Or was she just with all of them.

Just then Nate stepped into the van, followed by the Grifter. Well, she amended. Almost all of them.

"Are you ok dear?" The Grifter - she'd never got anyone's name but Nate and Alec Hardison, and the later was only because she remembered his file from the FBI database... before it'd disappeared - asked as she moved closer to inspect the marks to Mara's face.

Thankfully she'd put Eliot's shirt on just before the woman arrived because she'd have felt horrid if the woman before her had seen them. "I've had worse." She told the woman, scooting imperceptibly closer to Eliot.

Eliot noticed, because he notices everything, and moved to sit right beside Mara. He loved the people in the van, but he knew they could be a bit overwhelming, especially to a person like Mara.

"So, what happened?" Nate asked.

Eliot shrugged, but winced as his ribs screamed in protest. "I got caught, beat on, then Mara arrived and they were more interested in torturing her for a while." He answered; his hands had balled into fists when he'd talked about Mara's torture.

Mara noticed, because she noticed everything just as much as Eliot, and quickly placed her hands over Eliot's balled up fist before turning to Nate. "They just wanted to know the usual. We he worked for, who I worked for, what we wanted, etcetera." She told him. "They weren't all that inventive when it came to torture." She rolled her eyes at the reminder. "A child could have come up with more tortures methods then their cliché beat on you tactics." She heard Eliot's snort and went back to her original point. "So basically it was just round and round of punch, ask who sent us, get a snarky comment, and punch again." She finished.

Eliot snorted a bit louder this time. "If I remember, you were the only one giving snarky comments." He reminded her.

Mara rolled her eyes. "Telling the monkey you were looking for his sister and her talented mouth again..." She trailed off with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow.

Eliot shrugged. "Yeah, and telling the one his momma sent him wasn't worse?"

Mara snorted. "I just wanted to teach him how to treat a lady." She told him. "It isn't my fault he can't take any help."

Eliot rolled his eyes at her.

LEVRAGE

Sophie sat in stunned amazement as the two black and blue beings before her laughed and joked about what they'd just been through. She glanced at Nate, only to find his look almost as bemused. When she glanced at Parker, the thief merely shrugged like it didn't amaze her in the least.

Actually, Parker wasn't amazed that the pair was joking about their imprisonment. She was just amazed Eliot was joking at all. She loved the boy like an older brother - and she knew he cared in the exact same way - but he was to tense, to drug down by all his past mistakes, to ever really loosen up. Or so she thought. She muttered silently to herself as she looked from Eliot to the brunette.

"We're home." Hardison said as he pulled into the underground parking lot below their building.

Eliot looked towards Mara. "Can you walk?" He asked, knowing that the sitting would have tightened all her muscles. Therefore, when she stood, it would hurt like a bitch with all the bruising.

Mara laughed. "Honey, you can barely walk yourself, I think I can make it." She answered, knowing full well he would have tried - and probably succeeded - in carrying her if she'd said no.

Eliot smirked at her and stepped down onto the pavement, holding out his hand to help her down. After she'd exited the van, they followed the rest of the group inside the building to get themselves patched up.


	8. A Night To Remeber

Mara smiled as she walked into the apartment Eliot kept perfectly immaculate. She'd spent a week recuperating in a spare apartment in Nate's building, and now that she felt mostly healed, she'd be leaving. She knew she should go without bothering Eliot, but she couldn't do that, not now. So here she stood, in Eliot's doorway, knocking.

"Mara?" Eliot said questioningly as he opened the door, mostly healed from his own injuries. "Should you be up?"

Mara shrugged. "I feel well enough to walk." She told him, hedging a bit.

"So..." He trailed off uncomfortably.

Mara didn't think, just reacted. She leaned up on her tip-toes, wrapped her arms around Eliot's neck, and kissed him full on the mouth.

It only took three seconds for Eliot to respond. He wrapped his own arms around her tiny waist and lifted her off her feet, dragging her into the room and kicking the door closed with his foot. There was a split second where his mind told him this was stupid and he'd regret it in the morning, but he ignored that part of himself and lost himself in the moment.

Mara felt her back hit the bare wall behind her and she pulled up her legs and wrapped them securely around Eliot's waist. Her hips, back, shoulders, and head were all pressed firmly against the wall, everything else pressed even more firmly against Eliot. She knew this would probably never happen again, so she wouldn't let herself think, just react.

And that was what they did. For one night they forgot about every reason they shouldn't do this, every person out to get one or both, and any consequence in the morning. They just reacted.

LEVERAGE

Mara woke slowly; her body languidly sore mixed in with the occasional twinge from one of her many healing wounds. She felt the arm around her stomach and couldn't help the smile as she remembered the night before. She glanced back to find Eliot sleeping peacefully behind her, something that had always happened so rarely before.

She quickly and silently shimmied from between him and the bed and began gathering up her clothes. Just as she'd finished dressing and was about to walk out the door, she glanced back towards his sleeping body. With an eye roll at her own stupidity, she grabbed up a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a small note that she tacked to the door before exiting.

"I see you're leaving." She heard their Thief, Parker, say behind her.

Mara turned to glance at the strange woman. "I am." She answered.

Parker nodded in understanding, there was a lot this woman understood that none would expect. "I think he cares deeply for you." The thief told her. "There's a barrier he has, that just seems to vanish around you."

Mara looked away from the earnest eyes of a woman who was so rarely earnest.

"Just know that if you ever get in trouble, any kind, you can call me." The Thief told the girl. "I'm not talking the entire team - though you can call us as well - I'm saying I will help you if you ever need it." The Thief told the con-artist before her.

Mara looked up in surprise. "Why would you do that?" She asked, knowing of Parker's reputation as a thief focused completely on her and her goals from many she'd interacted with.

The thief shrugged. "If Eliot cares that deeply for you, then you must be more than just a con-artist looking for the next score." She answered. "I care about that boy, may even go so far as to say I love him as family. That means if you're hurt, he's devastated, and I'm pissed." She told the woman, quite serious. "I don't like being pissed; emotions have no place in a heist. So I figure, if you don't get hurt, emotions can't mess with my heists." She finished before turning and walking away without another word.

LEVRAGE

Just as Mara exited the building, Eliot awoke with a jerk. "Mara!" He yelled out before realizing she wasn't there, her clothes being gone was a big clue. He quickly stood knowing, but hoping otherwise, that she was gone.

As he went to open the door, he noticed the note. He quickly pulled if off the door and opened it.


	9. Not The End

_Eliot._ It read.

_You're a good guy, I always knew it. I finally understand why you did it - don't beat yourself up about it because I'm grateful - it taught me a lot. Last night might have been better than before, actually it was, there's no might about it. He laughed at that little line that was so... Mara._

_Anyways, we both know if you want to, you could find me anywhere on Earth - especially with the help of that team of yours. So I guess what I'm trying to say is maybe we'll see one another again. Until then, live life to the fullest and stop blaming yourself for every bad thing you've ever done._

_I love you._

_Amarantha, your Mara._


	10. I Told You It Wasn't The End

She hadn't seen the man in seven months, and yet she was being tortured for information on his whereabouts. How... moronic. Were these men really so stupid as to think that she'd go threw six months of torture and never divulge her secrets, but two idiots who's only form of persuasion was money or their fists was going to break her. Yeah, definitely morons. Hell, the only reason they'd gotten the drop on her was the one had come at her like a common thug, leaving the other to come up behind her when she was distracted and hit her with a two-by-four. Which still hurt, mind you.

"So, you ready to call him yet?" The one she'd christened Stubby - because of his stubby little sausage fingers - demanded.

She didn't look at the idiot man, she looked straight threw him.

"I thought you said you could break her easy." Streaks - because of the three slashes across his cheek, clearly a result of an improperly treated knife wound - said sullenly.

She snorted at that, the first noise she'd made the entire time they'd held her captive. Then, she spoke. "You honestly believe that two crackpot thugs for hire like yourself can break a woman that killed off half the Russian Mob after six months of torture?" She asked with another snort. "Not in your dizziest day dreams."

Streaks glanced to Stubs and then they both grinned rather maliciously. "Well then, if we can't break her, let's use her to send a message." Streaks said with a snarky little smile.

Stubs took on the nasty little grin. "Lets." He agreed. "If we can't get her to bring him out, we can send her to him."

The red-haired female sat silently before them, refusing to let fear invade her at the thoughts that clearly shone through these two men's eyes. Voice as strong as steel, cold as ice, and mean as a momma bears snarl came out of the little woman. "I will only warn you once; I am no one's victim."

Both men's eyes widened in terror at the woman's words.

They lashed out in anger, but never once did they contemplate anything but a beating for the woman. For her eyes held something beyond a threat. In that little woman's eyes held a promise of pain the likes Hell couldn't dream up. And even though the two men knew they were capable of handling just about anything that came their way, they weren't so sure they could deal with that promise.

Once they were threw working the woman over, they hauled her unconscious body out of their little concrete room and drove her to the place that held their client's target.


End file.
